A blog from one Scouter to others — along with ideas for delivering the Reverence aspects of Scouting

Archive for Cub Scouts

As Pack leaders are starting to think about the next school year, many often lament or hope for an influx of new adult volunteers to help the Pack run. So, how do you do that?

Register them

That isn’t meant to be trite or over-simplistic, but the process starts on the first night of School Night for Scouting (SNfS) or whatever you call your Fall recruiting event. When the new families come to sit down, every seat should have stacks of:

Information about Scouting

Information about your Pack, including calendars for the first 60 days, new uniform details, and key contact information

A Youth Application

An Adult Application

Most folks, when they get a stack of papers and they are “ready” (most are or they wouldn’t be giving up an evening at home) to join will start filling out whatever paper is in front of them because they haven’t figured out that it is optional. This isn’t trying to trick them; just start with the assumption that every adult will join, until proven otherwise. If you only expect a new Den Leader and Assistant, and maybe a Committee Member, per table, than you will be lucky to get that and not much else.

But it costs an extra $20 dollars?

Yes, it does. It also emphasizes from the very first interaction that they are expected to be involved, and it helps with a little more commitment on the whole family to participate in Scouting. By the way, it also protects them with BSA insurance on any Pack or Den event that they go on, since many will be bringing their kids – and that insurance can be a life saver (see earlier blog).

Some of our families can’t afford even the minimum

I respect that, but many Councils and Packs have extra scholarship dollars. If your Pack is in an area that consistently needs that, consider adding $2 to all annual dues. But dropping the adult fees (and the adult’s service to the Pack) is not a good way to reduce the investment, since the Pack will be growing to serve the boy either way.

One of the key tenants of character building is self‑reliance, so if a parent will likely have financial needs throughout the year, it is even more important that they help contribute to the Pack by serving as a leader. Maybe something as simple as a helper for Blue & Gold, or selling snacks at the Pinewood Derby, or as an assistant Den Leader.

Start with some assumptions:

Most parents will fill out paperwork, if it is put in front of them

Most of those parents will help out if specifically asked (start with small jobs)

Most parents in financial-need will “pay in service” until you tell them that they don’t have to

Push the scholarships – don’t reduce the price

Some readers might be defensive by now, but I would offer that Scouting has value that far exceeds the cost. Similar to sales businesses, don’t drop the price — because that diminishes the perceived value and it reduces your customers’/participants’ commitment to the program. Instead, make that same effort to over-articulate the value of Scouting – all that the boys will get out of it, all that the families will get from it, and how cheap it is compared to alternative youth programs.

Suggested Do’s and Don’t

Don’t just enroll the kids at SNfS – or you will perpetuate your lack of adult-involvement problem. It is inordinantly harder to recruit them later, and you’ll never get as many as there were at SNfS.

Don’t take the adult applications at SNfS without processing them. Some Packs take the applications and file them until the adult is slotted to a role – DON’T. First, the adult application has SSN’s and other personal information, so Pack leaders should process them and get them out of their hands and into Council, as quickly as possible. Secondly, everyone can be Committee Members until proven otherwise. You can always turn them into Asst. Den Leaders later, but get them into the system and then figure out in what way(s) that they can help.

Don’t let them leave with their applications to “think about it” – as described in my earlier SNfS blogs, have a sign-up sheet as they first enter, with phone numbers and email addresses, so that you can later reconcile they applications to those that attended. Even if they appear hesitant, try to “sit” on the applications (youth & adult) and then help them finish them when they return.

Most Importantly – BELIEVE that Every Parent Can Serve

There are 40+ Cub Belt Loops covering almost every hobby and sport that an elementary-aged kid would likely have any interest in, along with twenty in-depth Webelos pins and a nearly infinite amount of supporting activities that support the Tiger go-see-it’s and the Wolf/Bear modules.

It is hard to imagine a case where every single parent doesn’t have a little something that can be applied to helping somewhere in the Pack – and if all that fails, there are lots of small (and large) roles on the committee for functions throughout the year. The problem isn’t that the parent can’t help, but that no one has helped them discover where they can. But you, as the current Pack Leaders have to believe that.

Closing Thought

Processing a bunch of new adult applications, explaining the process of Scouting and adult involvement repetitively, and then digging to find the right role for them … it is a lot of work, but it is far less work than carrying the Pack on the shoulders of just a few overworked volunteers.

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Every year, as part of re-chartering, Packs ask about whether they should do the re-charter paperwork for their Webelos II scouts. Typically near the end of February, most Webelos II (W2) scouts will cross over from their Cub Scout Packs and become Boy Scouts – so why should the Pack pay for their entire annual dues?

Recharter Them: The question isn’t whether to recharter them, it is who pays for it

To be clear – YES, the Pack needs to renew the memberships of those W2 scouts.

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There are lots of ways to deliver an evening recruiting event, but I’d like to share mine for those looking for different ideas.

School Night for Scouting (SNfS) actually begins a few weeks before the recruiting event itself.

See my earlier blog on the T-minus-two-week plan for recruiting and the mid-day Rally video.

So now, you’ve hopefully been able to send flyers home, your scouts helped deliver the morning announcements, perhaps your scouts wore their uniform at school, you’ve done a mid-day rally to get them excited, and now they are coming to the school cafeteria tonight.

Here are some ideas for the SNfS evening itself:

1. Recognize that SNfS is as much (or more) about recruiting adults, as it is the youth. If a parent takes the time to get their son to the evening event, they intend to register him unless you give them a reason/excuse not to. So, plan on collecting an adult application (and the fee) for every youth. Make them all ‘MC’ members of committee unless they already know that they are willing to be a Den Leader – and you can figure out how to use them later (Pinewood, Food drive, fundraising, etc.). You’ll have a few who adamantly refuse, but its likely that most of those parents would be your drop-off Baby Sitters of America parents, so handle how you see fit.

2. Keep the boys with the parents. It might seem easier to distract the boys with games while the adults do paperwork, but you’ll significantly increase the likelihood of the parent registering when little Johnny is tugging at their sleeve, being excited.

3. Keep the energy up. The presentation and paperwork aren’t a lot of fun, so keep reminding them of all the fun that Scouting is (after tonight).

Here are a few suggestions for running the evening:

Seat them by grade-level when they first come in – so that the dens are already formed.

Have a sign-in sheet, to capture contact information before the event. Some folks may leave early, so this gives you a chance to follow-up later if they are missing an application. Also, use sticky nametags with a small number in each corner that corresponds to their number on the sign-in sheet (see newspaper game).

The presentation should include not only ‘information’ such as org-structure – but also fun parts (slide show from last year) and a little bit of selling the adult contribution.

Quick slideshow of last year. Remember, you want them excited to join. If you did a slideshow movie for last year’s Blue & Gold, use it. If not, do a spontaneous opening poll of the boys on ‘why did they bring their parents to join Scouting? Easy answers; Shoot stuff … Burn stuff … Camping … Go see cool places … etc.

Quick overview on the character-building value of Scouting (don’t read every point). Acknowledge that all of the parents in the room what their boys to turn into men of character, so Scouting is here to partner with them in that noble effort.

The Story of the Tape. It starts with ‘Your boy may live to 100’ and ends with ‘your time to influence them is ages 7-15, which is the Scouting years. This is your time together’ This part also works well with just a long strip of paper (3 feet or longer), but the PPT is narrated and fits within the PPT. Use whichever, but it is a strong message why the parents should be devoting NOW to their boys.

The Newspaper game. This is a great model of ‘Fun with a Purpose’ – and the purpose is seeing who the natural adult leaders are. Ask a few non-uniformed leaders to walk around and note which new adults are being vocal, creative or are really participating. Those are your best new committee members and den leaders. If their nametags have numbers, it is easier to remember “#6” than “Sundar” or “Jacqueline”

The organization structure – which emphasizes the expansive national, council and district ecosystem that is here to support them, and all of the small adult roles that make the Pack work.

Den formation discussion – someone has to be the Den Leader/coordinator … someone should help them (Asst. Den Leader) and the rest of the folks are ‘on the Committee’

Paperwork instructions

After you have presented the information, walk around table-to-table for Q&A … but be sure that they have ‘alone time’ to figure out amongst themselves who will be the den leaders. If they leave without a den leader, you don’t have a den – unless you are simply adding a few boys to an otherwise existing den. In which case, you should still push for recruiting a new Asst. Den Leader, so that the Den scales with the new boys.

Once they finish their paperwork for both the Youth and an Adult, they can head to the back table, process out, and head home.

Be sure that they have easy instructions for the next month of meetings and how to get a uniform. If there is an easy ‘patch-lady’ for sewing, provide that contact information too.

There are certainly other ways to run SNfS, and your Council may have its own formula. If not, I hope this was helpful.

Thanks for reading

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Most Boy Scouts begin as Cub Scouts … and most Cub Scouts first learn about the program from a School Night for Scouting (SNfS) or Join Scouting Night (JSN) recruitment event. While your Pack may already have a very effective recruiting mechanism, here are some ideas on how effectively recruit within your school.

1. Meet with the Principal — reminding them of the value of Scouting in their school

During my five years as a Cubmaster, I was blessed to be in a school district that recognizes the value of Scouting within their student body, as an extracurricular activity and as a character building program for the students. As such, recruiting always starts with meeting with the Principal.

2. School Open House (optional)

If you are able to meet with the principal before your school’s fall Open House, then ask to set up a table – perhaps nearby the PTA sign-up table. Your only goal is to ask, “Can we send some information about Scouting to you?” with a sign-up page with email address, child and parents’ name and email and phone number. This will let you do an email blast when you are ready for recruitment night. Inevitably, someone will ask you about girl scouts, so have a second sign-up sheet so that you can pass their information to your peer (if you can find them).

3. Establish a 7-day countdown to your recruitment night

I personally like Thursday nights for recruiting. Fridays are tough for parents to commit to, when they are not yet enthusiastic about the program. Wednesdays are church nights for many. And Monday/Tuesday doesn’t give you enough consistency for message/momentum.

4. Send a letter to the Teachers … Thursday (7 days before SNfS)

Say something similar to what you evangelized to the principal, and in fact, consider recapping that conversation. Let the know that you are excited about the adventure for their kids and that you will be sending a letter home for all the parents on Thursday. Also, ask if they know of any kids in the class that they believe would especially benefit from the Scouting program, give them your email address or phone number. Let them know that next week, there

5. Send a letter home with every 1st thru 5th grader … Monday (3 days before SNfS)

Many schools send home packets on a Monday or Tuesday, which is great because the parents are used to looking through it for actionable information. The best option is to just be included in that stack. The letter/flyer should include the meeting time for your SNfS.

If your Council office is doing the printing, you will need to confirm the SNfS night — first with the principal, so that you can use their facility, and then with the Council, in case your District Exec is able to support the event

Note, while it is slightly more expensive, I highly encourage you to send with every child, not just the boys. While Johnny might have not received his flyer for some reason, his sister may have hers. A few extra dollars in printing vs. doubling the chance that a boy learns about Scouting, is worth it.

6. School Rally — during lunches or assembly … Tuesday (2 days before SNfS)

This is where you get them excited!!! This is not so much about putting out information/education as much as getting them totally jazzed for the fun of Scouting. Tell them that their parents received the informational brochure, but have lots of extras and send it with them again. Consider asking your existing cub scouts to wear their class-B t-shirts on the day of the rally.

Check out this video, as an example of how you amp them up. Your goal is simply to have them go home to tell their parents “I want to be a Cub Scout — did you read the flyer?”

7. School Night for Scouting (SNfS) … Thursday !!

This is it!! Consider asking two Cub Scouts, ideally a Cub and a Webelos (in Class-A uniform), to deliver the morning announcements, or at least encourage everyone to join the Scouts. Potentially, you might also offer for all existing scouts to wear their Class-A’s (possibly over other clothes, if they do recess). It is just one more way to get those new kids excited. Will post a second blog post on delivering SNfS itself.

If you use it to teach a course, here are two requests for your consideration. 1) please let me know how it might be improved and 2) please point people back to ScoutingForGod for supplemental content and insight.

What does the BSA says about Faith and Religion — for Cub Scouts

The BSA scouting.org website offers clarity and commentary on each aspect of the Cub Scout Promise.

To do my duty to God: This phrase means to remember to thank God for good friends, good health, our well-being, our family, and all others who love and help us. Going to worship services is another way of doing our duty to God. We should respect other people’s religious beliefs even if they are different from our own.

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All religious courseware and programs are prescribed by the various religious institutions that have chosen to develop them. The programs are not created or maintained by the Boy Scouts. BSA simply approves the program structure and provides a method of recognition via the Uniform Knots for Scouts and Adults.

Religious study programs that are designed for 3rd grade youth can be used to satisfy the rank requirements for Bear.

A Cub Scout-specific metal ‘device’ (pin # 926) is available for the Purple Scout Religous Knot, BSA part number 05007

Depending on the scout’s faith, they have options such as:

Roman Catholic

Parvuli Dei

3rd, 4th and 5th grade

Christian Protestent

God & Me

1st, 2nd and 3rd grade

Islamic

In the Name of God

1st, 2nd and 3rd grade

Jewish

Aleph

2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th

To complete the BEAR RANK,
the scout must do one of either Activities 1 (Ways we Worship) or 2 (Emblems of Faith).

1. WAYS WE WORSHIP (complete both requirements 1a and 1b)

Complete the Character Connection for Faith

Know. Name some people in history who have shown great faith. Discuss with an adult how faith has been important at a particular point in his or her life.

Commit. Discuss with an adult how having faith and hope will help you in your life, and also discuss some ways that you can strengthen your faith.

Make a list of things you can do this week to practice your religion as you are taught in your home, church, synagogue, mosque, or other religious community. Check them off your list as you complete them.

OR

2. EMBLEMS OF FAITH (earn the purple knot above)

Guidance based on the BSA Bear Handbook (2006 edition) – pages 24-33.

If you know of other resources related Religious Programs, Awards or Rank Advancements, please let us know !

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All religious courseware and programs are prescribed by the various religious institutions that have chosen to develop them. The programs are not created or maintained by the Boy Scouts. BSA simply approves the program structure and provides a method of recognition via the Uniform Knots for Scouts and Adults.

The Tiger Rank does not have a religious participation activity, however religious study programs that are designed for 1st grade youth can be recognized by the used to satisfy the rank requirements for Tiger.

A Cub Scout-specific metal ‘device’ (pin # 926) is available for the Purple Scout Religous Knot, BSA part number 05007

Depending on the scout’s faith, they have options such as:

Roman Catholic

Light of Chirst

1st & 2nd grade

Christian Protestent

God & Me

1st, 2nd and 3rd grade

Islamic

Bismillah

1st, 2nd and 3rd grade

Jewish

Maccabee

1st grade

If you know of other resources related Religious Programs, Awards or Rank Advancements, please let us know !

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All religious courseware and programs are prescribed by the various religious institutions that have chosen to develop them. The programs are not created or maintained by the Boy Scouts. BSA simply approves the program structure and provides a method of recognition via the Uniform Knots for Scouts and Adults.

Religious study programs that are designed for 2nd grade youth can be used to satisfy the rank requirements for Wolf.

A Cub Scout-specific metal ‘device’ (pin # 926) is available for the Purple Scout Religous Knot, BSA part number 05007

Depending on the scout’s faith, they have options such as:

Roman Catholic

Light of Chirst

1st & 2nd grade

Christian Protestent

God & Me

1st, 2nd and 3rd grade

Islamic

Bismillah

1st, 2nd and 3rd grade

Jewish

Aleph

2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th

To complete the WOLF RANK,
Activity 11 is “Duty to God”, which includes the following requirements:

11. DUTY TO GOD

Complete the Character Connection for Faith

Know. What is “faith”? With your family, discuss some people who have shown their faith – who have shown an inner strength based on their trust in a higher power or cause.
Discuss the good qualities of these people.

Commit. Discuss these questions with your family: What problems did these faithful people overcome to follow or practice their beliefs? What challenges might you face in doing your duty to God? Who can help you with these challenges?

Practice. Practice your faith while doing the requirements for “Duty to God.”

Talk with your family about what they believe is their duty to God.

Give two ideas on how you can practice or demonstrate your religious beliefs.

Choose one and do it. Find out how you can help your church, synagogue, mosque, temple, or religious fellowship.

Guidance based on the BSA Wolf Handbook (2006 edition) – pages 94-99.

If you know of other resources related Religious Programs, Awards or Rank Advancements, please let us know !

Like this:

All religious courseware and programs are prescribed by the various religious institutions that have chosen to develop them. The programs are not created or maintained by the Boy Scouts. BSA simply approves the program structure and provides a method of recognition via the Uniform Knots for Scouts and Adults.

Religious study programs that are designed for 4th and 5th grade youth can be used to satisfy the rank requirements for Webelos.

A Cub Scout-specific metal ‘device’ (pin # 932) is available for the Purple Scout Religous Knot, BSA part number 05007

Depending on the scout’s faith, they have options such as:

Roman Catholic

Parvuli Dei

3rd, 4th and 5th grade

Christian Protestent

God & Family

4th and 5th grade

Islamic

Bismillah

4th and 5th grade

Jewish

Aleph

2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th

To complete the WEBELOS RANK, the scout must do requirement 8 (Faith).

Faith After completing the rest of requirement 8, do these (a, b, and c):

Know: Tell what you have learned about faith.

Commit: Tell how these faith experiences help you live your duty to God. Name one faith practice that you will continue to do in the future.

Practice: After doing these requirements, tell what you have learned about your beliefs.

And do one of these (d OR e):

Earn the religious emblem of your faith* (earn the purple knot above)

Do two of these:

Attend the mosque, church, synagogue, temple, or other religious organization of your choice, talk with your religious leader about your beliefs. Tell your family and your Webelos den leader what you learned.

Discuss with your family and Webelos den leader how your religious beliefs fit in with the Scout Oath and Scout Law, and what character-building traits your religious beliefs have in common with the Scout Oath and Scout Law.

With your religious leader, discuss and make a plan to do two things you think will help you draw nearer to God. Do these things for a month.

For at least a month, pray or meditate reverently each day as taught by your family, and by your church, temple, mosque, synagogue, or religious group.

Under the direction of your religious leader, do an act of service for someone else. Talk about your service with your family and Webelos den leader. Tell them how it made you feel.

List at least two ways you believe you have lived according to your religious beliefs.

* Of notable mention in the BSA guidelines, if the scout earned their religious emblem (purple knot) as a Cub Scout, they must either earn the Webelos award or the activities of 8e. Also, completing the activities of 8e does not qualify the scout to wear the religious emblem of their faith or a purple knot.

If you know of other resources related Religious Programs, Awards or Rank Advancements, please let us know !